Sunday, May 23, 2010

'Meudon' Ruins

Two close-ups of the ruins of 'Meudon', the William D. Guthrie estate designed by C.P.H. Gilbert c. 1900 in Lattingtown. Click HERE for more on 'Meudon'. Photos by James Hogarty.


18 comments:

The Down East Dilettante said...

I always found Meudon very awkward and plebian in design---big, but not elegant---but it makes a gorgeous ruin!

Turner Pack Rats said...

not to be too prosaic here, but i find these photos hauntingly beautiful.
i must disagree partially with DED. Meudon's rear is a little awkwardly handled but the front is so impressive in a "Whitemarshy" way. solid and classical. and i like those loggias with the gazebo/teahouse/? at the end plus this one has a sunroom at the other end. and then all those landscaped descending terraces to that huge fountain, the farm group and the bathing pavilion. this place has all the quintessential necessities that a big estate must have.

security word def - "ingithol" - medicated cigarette for a scandinavian beauty

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised it looks so well cared for. No trash, broken columns or graffiti.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Nope Turner, my fellow Mainer, I'm not yielding an inch here. While Meudon was interesting, it lacked the beautiful detail and superbly integrated proportions of Whitemarsh. Heavy handed in its details. Grand alone is not enough to make good architecture.

Anonymous said...

Here's the Whitney Boathouse -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8114706&lon=-73.7089759&z=18&l=0&m=b&show=/13360926/

Follow up to this LIGC estate in question -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.7958779&lon=-73.6020899&z=15&l=0&m=b&show=/9761174/&search=ligc

Great Pratt info in a in this article LOST FLOWERS OF THE FAIR about Mrs. Harold Pratt's{Weylwyn} involvement with the gardens at the New York World's Fair 1939 -


"A philanthropist of considerable wealth, stature, and influence among New York society, Mrs. Pratt was involved with numerous organizations and causes. She was a director of the Horticultural Society, first secretary of the Garden Club of America (1919-1927), and president of the North Country Garden Club. She was a gracious hostess to the annual flower show at Pratt Oval on the family's Glen Cove estate and to her own "place of welcome," Welwyn, which the GCA visited for its national convention in 1931.4 Mrs. Pratt decried the littering of highways with billboards, helped to create parks, and lent her support to roadside beautification projects. She also was instrumental in the formation of the first committee on White House furnishings and decor, for which she served as chair."


Magnus did you ever attend this annual flower show?


http://www.gcamerica.org/lost_flowers_article.html

Book is called GARDENS ON PARADE. Amazon has it and so might your library.


To the question on Pratt Oval and why it attained the size and scope that it did. My thinking is money. Charles Pratt started the family fortune coming to wealth later in life. Being prudent from the beginning in his building in Glen Cove he had a plan to mitigate his costs. Tubby designed one central facility with that in mind. Planing for the here and - now -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8874328&lon=-73.614707&z=18&l=0&m=b&show=/3475511/Pratt-Family-Mausoleum

Another book I just found is about the landscaping firm Innocenti & Webel. Easton, maybe Groton Place{Robert J.? Winthrop} and maybe Echless{listed Howard K.?Phipps} Zach do you know if I/W were involved at Echless? Amazon has book and so did my library. Zach, Spinzia book mentions a "Little Erchless". Whats that?

ChipSF said...

HPHS -
Still at 18 - this is the Grace court, one of O'Connor's works.

Good info on the H.P. & G.V. Whitney house. It makes the most sense if they were going to give the Manse to C.V.W. and downsize. If so, this is the house where little Gloria was during the trial and not the Manse.

However, Zach was thinking the Walker & Gillette was elsewhere and there is no mention of this house by Walker & Gillette in SPLIA.

Down East & TPR -
As far as I am concerned, you are both right about Meuden. Fairly dull and institutional but palatial!

Zach -
The photos of the ruins are indeed breathtaking.

Anonymous said...

CfipSF - do you have a complete list of the 18 that you can post?

ChipSF said...

HPHS -
Yes I will post the complete 18 later - heading out soon for the day - it's almost noon here.

Also, I sent a note to AAL recently lamenting (get it?) that we no longer see AAL comments at oldlongisland. Had a nice response promising to return soon

P.S. Now it looks like you are going to start a boathouse hunt - yikes.

Anonymous said...

Farm complexes too, don't forget the farm complexes!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hopkins

Anonymous said...

Trivia Question:

Whats does Meudon and the Armstrong Dairy have in common?????

Anonymous said...

Whats does Meudon and the Armstrong Dairy have in common?????

That's too easy.

ChipSF said...

HPHS -
Here is the list I compiled of L.I. Playhouses/Indoor Tennis Courts (by owner name). Some guesses on owner that built the playhouse & estate name:
1. Curran, Guernsey/Farlands
2. Grace, W.R. Jr./The Crossroads
3. Mackay,Clarence/Harbor Hill
4. McCann, Charles/Sunken Orchard
5. Phipps, H.C./Spring Hill
6. Pratt, Geo./Killenworth
7. Pratt, Harold/Welwyn
8. Prybil, Helen/Bogheid
9. Pulitzer, Ralph/Kiluna Farm
10. Schiff, Mortimer/Northwood
11. Sloane, Mrs. Geo./Brookmeade
12. Smith, Merle/Evergreens
13. Vietor (or Fahys)/ Hilaire
14. Webb, Watson/Woodbury House
15. Whitney, H.P./The Manse
16. Whitney, Payne/Greentree
17. Williams, Harrison/Oak Point
18. Wintrop, Henry R./East Woods
Any corrections, additions?

The Down East Dilettante said...

Chip, Half, et al, how could you all forget the Marshall Field indoor tennis court?

Anonymous said...

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.9289155&lon=-73.4580231&z=18&l=0&m=b&show=/6417062/

and Idelhour -

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.742543&lon=-73.14811&z=17&l=0&m=b&show=/4348822/Kramer-Science-Building&search=dowling%20

Not really sure if this was the sports complex or not???

Anonymous said...

Indoor Tennis

Pembroke-Delamar

J.

Zach L. said...

Not that it would matter but I think the indoor tennis court at Pembroke was built later on by Loew.

magnus said...

Half Pudding, Half Sauce:

I think that the flower shows at Pratt oval were discontinued at the outbreak of WWII and never revived. The Oval was still very much intact when I was a kid, but given over to commercial use. I think that the perfumer, Mary Chess, was one of the occupants.

And Zach- you're right, as usual, the Pembroke tennis court was built by Arthur Loew- a terrible Quonset hut type structure that doesn't warrent "playhouse" status.

And Anon 10:21- was the old Armstrong Dairy the Meudon Dairy? I assumed that it had been part of Peacock Point.

One more for Zach: Have you ever come across photos of the original Bogheid built for William Porter?

Zach L. said...

Not yet. I bet the Glen Cove Library has one though.